Interview with River Ridge Seniors Village family member, Donna Rieger

They are so well taken care of. That’s what I really like. I know somebody is always there to look after a fall or anything like that. The marketer, Susie, is beyond belief. She does everything, and she does it very well.

When my mother fell and broke her ankle, Susie had her breakfast there that morning. She just goes above and beyond to look after the residents. She sits at the front desk, and everybody sees her.

It has hardwood floor, which is excellent for wheelchair, walker, whatever. Since they moved into River Ridge Seniors Village, they’ve both been using a walker. Now my dad needs to be portered to meals, but they have favorite waitresses and favorite home care girls. The place is so clean, I just can’t say enough.

My parents moved there mostly because of my mother’s friends and neighbors, who had been there before her, and she didn’t look at anything else. “I’m moving to River Ridge.” Okay. Now she has more friends there that she knew years ago, and she reconnected.

My parents, unfortunately, don’t partake in much. Our mother was a bridge player, but she feels she’s too old now. My father, he’s a social guy with the family, but he really doesn’t go. He visits with everyone when he’s at dinner or supper, but not friends-wise. There was nothing for him.

Mother is just blossoming because she loves to chat. They have now started live music once a week or once every couple of weeks, and they really enjoy that.

It started when my mother broke her ankle accidentally, and they have gone above and beyond caring for her. Within the last month, my father has deteriorated somewhat. He’s reminiscing. I mean, he knows everybody, but he’s reminiscing. Home care has started to take care of him. My mother can’t say enough about how well they treat him and look after him. He’s going to be 97 in a couple of weeks, and my mother is just about 93. So moving for them was a big thing at this stage in their life.

It’s taken the stress off. They both were concerned about their yard, snow shoveling, and Mother was getting very tired of cooking. So moving has given them the relief of the pressure of homeowning, if that makes sense.

They both seem very at ease. They’re not pressing, as I say, about things in the home. It’s just nice. They know what lunchtime and mealtime is. I don’t know. They just seem more relaxed, both of them.

Everyone is so nice, compassionate. They’re helpful, they’re kind. It’s been a very nice place for my parents to be. Being the daughter, I know that they’re well taken care of and I don’t have to worry.

In some ways I’ve become more of a caregiver than I was before they moved because of COVID. It was difficult to go to the bank, do this, do that. My mother drove when she moved there. So when her license came due in November, they said because of COVID she should wait six months before taking her test again. She just thought about it, and so she gave up her car and her license.

I feel confident because they have the emergency call bells, they have the wristwatch, they have the wall thing. At first they didn’t use it, but in the last three months they had to use it on several occasions. I just feel at ease because somebody’s there to look after them.

I’d like to tell them that they should have no qualms about the care they’re going to receive there.

Because of COVID it’s so difficult. The amenities at River Ridge before this pandemic were just fabulous. The little bistro, all those things. They have lots of activities during the week, so anybody moving in, if they’re at all interested in socializing, it’ll be wonderful.

I think I would research more than I did. My mother had made the choice, but, for instance, for my in-laws, I wanted them to check out everything because that’s the type of thing they wanted to do. Price does come into play somewhat, but there are so many things that are offered for seniors besides. Moving is one thing, but it’s the care that's provided. There’s so much paperwork, but it’s worth it.

My mother, over the last five years, had friends and neighbors there, and she always went to visit. She loved the feeling she got when she went there. That’s why she chose River Ridge Seniors Village, because she sort of scoped it out before she ever decided to move in. She knew lots about it before she made the choice

It all sort of happened fast. My parents asked to speak to me and said, we’ve decided we need to move. Well, then it was put the house up for sale, empty the house, blah, blah, blah. It was time-consuming at this time of year last year, but it went very smoothly.

I must say that the atmosphere where it’s situated, even when they sit and have dinner in the dining room, the view they have is fabulous. From the north side, I see people sitting. They have tables and chairs and some couches and things. They have a view of the river. They have the river hills. Well, they can see the Trans-Canada Highway, but it’s just kind of majestic in a way, because it’s not flat prairie. It’s not just grass. The view is multifaceted. It’s just really nice.

It went very smoothly because my brother and I, well, Susie at the front desk said, we have this company, if you so choose to use it, that would help in loading up your mother and father’s belongings and taking them. We did hire them, and it was seamless. They were in and out of there with the furniture we chose to take. They were in and out of our house and my parents’ house in just under an hour. They were great.

My part was easy. I just made some phone calls. I had a little book. I kept all the phone calls that needed insurance, telephone, all that kind of stuff. I had it all in my head and ordered before they moved, so I knew what was going on.

The day after they moved in, there was the most beautiful set of embroidered bath towels with candies and ribbons, and it was all embroidered with River Ridge. They were beautiful towels, just so nice. That was a surprise for them.

I don’t believe I would do anything differently. It was seamless. It was easy. Easy. They made it easy. They told us which door to come in. Everything was taken care of. It was simple.